Oakland commuters express fear and frustration over BART strike

Commuters wait to get on a train at 19th Street BART station on Thursday. The trains are set to stop running on Friday at midnight.

Thousands of commuters across the Easy Bay are readjusting their travel plans tonight in the wake of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) local 192′s announcement that BART workers would strike just after midnight on Friday. Now, commuters must turn to carpools and AC Transit buses to get around if they can. Others will be left without a way to get to work or school tomorrow as talks by BART workers and management reached a bitter standstill.

“It’s tiring. Having to wake up in the middle of the night to find out what’s going on,” said Karman Wright, 31, who works at a medical clinic in Oakland. “I’ll drive, but I’ll have a longer commute now.”

“They’ve had 60 days to figure it out. I just don’t understand how they haven’t by now,” Wright added.

Other BART riders voiced similar frustrations. Kelly Soto, 44, relies on BART to get to her job each day in a San Francisco law firm. “I support the BART union,” Soto said. “But when I heard they would strike again I was exasperated.”